Workshop Requirements

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Before you attend the Stop paying for free software: Creating a LaTeX pipeline for collaboration session, you need to install the Bash commandline, Make, TeXLive, biber and Pandoc.

Windows

First, set up Windows Subsystem for Linux

  • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install
  • First, install WSL. For the purposes of this session, I installed WSL2
  • Check your windows version
    • select Windows logo key + R, type winver and select OK
    • You must be running Windows 10 Build 19041 and higher
  • open PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt and run the following:
    • wsl --install
    • You can open the command prompt by clicking the Windows logo button on the task bar, typing cmd, right clicking on Command Prompt and selecting Run as administrator
    • restart your computer
    • check that linux is installed using the Command Prompt:
    • wsl --list
    • if it’s not, you can install, Ubuntu (or a distribution of your choice)
    • swl --install -d Ubuntu-20.04
    • follow the set up instructions and choose a username/password

Install biber:

  • type sudo apt install biber

Next, install make:

  • type sudo apt install make

After this, install TeX Live full inside Linux

  • Open the start menu by clicking the Windows logo button and opening Ubuntu (or whichever Linux distribution you installed).
  • This will open a command line.
    • type in the following and press enter: sudo apt update. You may be prompted for your password
    • when this is finished, install TeX Live: sudo apt install texlive-full

Finally, install pandoc:

  • sudo apt install pandoc

Mac

First, install HomeBrew. This is a “package manager,” which allows you to install other programs.

  • Instructions from: https://brew.sh/
    • Open up a terminal. You can do this by going into launchpad and typing in “terminal” and clicking on the icon
    • paste this in and press enter: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Next, install MacTeX. You can do this through Homebrew by typing the following into your terminal window:

  • brew install --cask mactex
  • this will take some time, so be patient

Finally, install pandoc:

  • ` brew install pandoc`

Linux

This guide assumes you are running Ubuntu. If you are running another version of Linux, including a Debian variant, your instructions may differ.

First, install TeX Live

  • Open a terminal window. This gives you access to the command line. In Ubuntu you can do this by right-clicking on your desktop wallpaper and selecting open in terminal or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T from anywhere.
  • type in the following and press enter: sudo apt update. You may be prompted for your password
  • when this is finished, install TeX Live: sudo apt install texlive-full
  • Troubleshooting: if texlive-full is not installing properly, you may want to try installing packages separately. Follow instructions listed here: https://www.xmodulo.com/how-to-install-latex-on-ubuntu-or-debian.html

Install biber:

  • type sudo apt install biber

After this, install make:

  • type sudo apt install make

Finally, install pandoc:

  • sudo apt install pandoc

Setting up VS Code

Now that TeX, biber, make, and Pandoc are installed, we are ready to install an integrated development environment (IDE). This is the environment where you will do your work, e.g. on your manuscript or other LaTeX project.

In this tutorial, we will be using Visual Studio Code, but you will be able to pick an IDE that best fits your needs. Don’t be afraid to try out different environments.

Heads up

  • Be sure to install Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
  • this is different from Visual Studio
  • this is different from Visual Studio Mac

Windows

Installing VS Code

  • download VS Code from https://code.visualstudio.com/download
  • Install and run VS Code

Installing the Remote - WSL extension

  • VS Code works seamlessly with WSL which you installed earlier
  • In VS Code, click on the extensions menu. This looks like 4 boxes on the very lefthand side of the window.
  • In the extensions tab, search for wsl. Remote - WSL will be one of the top hits. Click Install.

Install VS Code Server in WSL

  • Open Ubuntu (or your favorite Linux distribution) in Windows.
  • In the command line, type code . to install VS Code Server
  • When installation is complete, a new VS Code window will open.

Mac

Installing VS Code

  • download VS Code from https://code.visualstudio.com/download
  • Install and run VS Code

Linux

These instructions assume you are running Ubuntu or similar.

Install from the command line:

  • sudo snap install --classic code